


Rantaro Amami and The Twelve Missing Sisters

by Apologetic_Pear



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - One Piece, Alternate Universe - One Piece Fusion, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Character Development, Developing Friendships, Don't worry they're just side characters, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Humor, I know you see OC there and are a little bit spooked, I try, It just takes place in the one piece world, Mystery, No Actual One Piece Characters, No big deal, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, basically we're finding Amami's sisters, i bet this has been done before though, not quite sure what fusion means but ill put it there anyway, why do i set myself up with these long ass plotlines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2020-05-19 10:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19354741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apologetic_Pear/pseuds/Apologetic_Pear
Summary: When his last sister disappears, Rantaro resolves to go out and find them.Along the way, he picks up a couple of stragglers. After all, he's got room on his ship and the Grand Line is vast. He'll take all the company that he can get.(Set in the One Piece universe, but not really about pirating or anything like that. It just takes place in the One Piece universe. So there are no One Piece spoilers and you don't have to watch One Piece to read this fic. I'll explain the geographic terms used if you need it.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> oh wow ok this is going to be a massive fic if it's acutally going to happen
> 
> drv3 is kinda old now, but ill never let go, I liked rantaro a lot and im still upset that he died first before we got more scenes with him.
> 
> Anyway, some info about the weird universe here. It's just set in One Piece, but all the characters don't have anything to do with One Piece. I don't plan on having any of the drv3 characters be devil fruit users or some strange one piece race, so they are all still human.
> 
> For those of you who have never seen one piece, do not fear, this is all you need to know:  
> \- The planet consists of six important features. The plant is round and blue like ours but it has only one large continental strip of land called the Red Line. It is tall and impossible to climb or live on top of and it runs around the plant like a ring.  
> \- Directly perpendicular to the Red Line is the Grand Line. Again it runs around the globe like a ring (like the equator) and it is a sea known for it's unstable weather and hard to navigate conditions. On the Grand Line there are many many islands.  
> \- Know, the Grand Line and the Red Line have split the world up into four other parts. These four parts are know as the North Blue, the South Blue, The East Blue, and the West Blue. These seas are easier to sail in and they also have many many islands.
> 
> If this explanation only confused you more, you can look here: https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/World  
> Or you can just google "one piece world" and you can find lots of diagrams of the world. That's all you really need to know. I'll claify anything else that happens in the fic when it comes up.

When Rantaro told his dad that he was going out to find his sisters, it wasn’t much of a surprise. The recent missing incidents, one after another, were beginning to wear on their entire family and when his last sister was reported as missing, Rantaro couldn’t just let it be.

 

His father entrusted him with his own ship, and Rantaro was able to use it as he pleased. His family was rather wealthy since his father owns a large trading and shipping company that covered most of the imports to the North Blue from the Grand Line. He and his sisters frequently went along with the trips to and from the Grand Line and as they got older, they began to help out with the business as well.

 

As Rantaro got his things together, he began to prepare for his journey into the Grand Line. He’s been through the Grand Line many many times, so the process of setting sail wasn’t very exciting but rather familiar.

 

His father had also told Rantaro to deliver some products as well as pick up others from several items on the Grand Line as well, he sighed. Such is life.

 

It’s not like Rantaro hated his father, he was grateful that he provided a comfortable home life and he was lucky enough to have the opportunity to sail wherever he pleased.

 

He was just, distant. Rantaro never felt like he knew the man.

 

Rantaro shook his head, no use feeling angsty right now, he had to plan his route. All his sisters were lost on business trips, so he had a good idea of which islands they could be. There were only so many islands with businesses that their company had dealt with. It should be less like trying to find a needle in a haystack and more like… trying to find a needle in a smaller haystack.

 

Rantaro laid out a large map of the Grand Line that displayed the route he had to take. Last night he had taken the time to draw out a plausible path. Now-

 

“Excuse me, Young Master Amami.”

 

“Ahh!!” Rantaro jumped and turned around. Surprised by the sudden presence of another living being.

 

He was met with the blank expression of their family’s youngest maid. Kirumi Tojo.

 

“Sorry Young Master.”

 

“Oh, it was just you Kirumi. Don’t worry, you spooked me, that’s all.” Rantaro laughed as he scratched the back of his neck. “Also, don’t call me ‘young master’, it doesn’t sound like me at all.”

 

“Of course sir.” Kirumi smiled.

 

Rantaro smiled back and went back to his work until he realized, “Wait, Kirumi? What are you even doing here?” He had already set sail and was close to the Red Line already.

 

“Your father wished for you to have some company on your journey, therefore he asked me to set sail with you,” Kirumi explained.

 

Rantaro gave her a confused look. “Yes, but you could have just told me that you were also going to come.”

 

“I was afraid that you wouldn’t let me. You were very set on accomplishing this task by yourself.”

 

“Oh.” Was he really that closed off about it? Rantaro looked back at Kirumi. “Sorry if it felt that way, I have no problem with you being here. Actually, it’s a big help that you’re here. Looking at it now I don’t think I could have handled everything by myself.”

 

Kirumi gave him a small shake of the head. “No, I’m sure you would have been fine. It’s just, it would have been a very long and lonely journey if you went by yourself.”

 

“Thanks, Kirumi.” Rantaro turned back to his map and brought out some small pins to stick it to the wall of the interior room on their ship. Kirumi came up behind him to view the map as well.

 

“So this is the route you are planning to take?”

 

“Yes, surely it should be okay right?”

 

Kirumi nodded. “We have Eternal Logs to all of the islands that do business with us so getting to any of these islands should be no problem at all.”

 

Rantaro breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

 

They sail for a while in silence, and they begin to arrive at the Red Line.

 

Now again, this wasn’t Rantaro’s first rodeo. So the hype from crossing the Red Line wasn’t nearly as exciting as the first time he had experienced it. But riding up the tall, tall mountain and then zooming down from the top like a roller coaster still got out a couple of laughs from him.

 

It felt like the start of an exciting adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eternal Log - basically a compass that points to a specific island forever. It's easy to use as a guide to sail to a specific island in the Grand Line
> 
> Red Line - when you enter the Grand Line, you gotta climb over the Red Line to get there. In order to do that (with a ship) the Red like is split into these cracks that push a ship up and lets it ride up and down the mountain. (It's called Reverse Mountain)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, small note about Rantaro's sisters (and Rantaro's dad later) - I am not Japanese, and therefore I can not come up with names for these characters. I only know English names off the top of my head but having one of his sisters be named something like "Katie Amami" seems very out of place among the rest of the (Japanese) drv3 names. So I went to a list of popular girl names and just plucked names from there. Sorry about that but what can I do
> 
> for miscellaneous characters I just have puns, like ace attorney

“Haliwater Island.” Rantaro breathed. He and Kirumi have been at sea for at least four days now and they’ve finally arrived at their first island. “Why is called Haliwater? Kirumi, do you know?”

 

Kirumi nodded. “I believe it is simply the founder’s name, Hali. He created Halitown which is the largest town on this island. The ‘water’ part is simply because it’s an island.”

 

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

 

“No.”

 

“What?”

 

“Kidding, the first part was true. But the rest I’m not sure of.”

 

Rantaro shook his head. “I figured you had a sarcastic side to you. You’re always so blank-faced it’s hard to tell.”

 

Kirumi let out a small laugh as their ship cruised towards Haliwater Island’s port.

 

…

 

“So Mister Amami, which sister do you believe we’re looking for on this island?” Kirumi asked as they docked.

 

Rantaro shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t know. All of my sisters, each one of them… they vanished years apart from each other, so by the time the last one was gone, I’ve forgotten where the first one was lost.”

 

Kirumi looked down. “Oh.”

 

“I mean, we’ve tried to set out looking for the first couple in years past but… after we lost another sister on one of those journeys….” Rantaro scratched his head.

 

Kirumi set her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s handle the business here first.”

 

Rantaro nodded. “Right.”

 

They agreed to have Kirumi watch over their belongings on the ship as Rantaro ventured down into Halitown to talk to their trading partner as well as pick up food and supplies they needed on their journey.

 

Halitown was a rather peaceful place, there was the occasional burglar here and there, but it’s what you would normally expect from a very small fishing city. Rantaro made his way towards a farmers market when suddenly he hears a scream from the building next door.

 

Curious, Rantaro makes his way into the building to see what had happened. He arrives at the door and sees a woman fleeing from a small storage closet in the back. She had long dark hair that was placed in low pigtails, and she was incredibly fast. Rantaro almost didn’t see her.

 

He ran towards the small closet in the back and discovered a woman lying on the ground. Startled, Rantaro took a few steps back.  _ Is she… dead? _

 

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” The booming voice came from behind him. A large man wearing a long tan coat stepped towards Rantaro. He grabbed Rantaro’s arm and cuffed him.

 

Rantaro snapped out of his confused state immediately. “Um, excuse me… but I think-”

 

“Save your excuses for interrogation!!!” The large man yelled. Shaking his head, he dragged Rantaro to the town’s precinct.

 

…

 

As the sun began to set, and Mister Rantaro hadn’t returned, Kirumi began to worry. She had already met with their trading partners since they had eventually found the Amami Ship at their port, and had handled business as usual, but it was strange that Rantaro had not met with them first.

 

As the sky got darker and darker, Kirumi pondered whether or not to leave the ship and search for the Young Master. Of course, she should look for him, but there was also the ship to worry about. There were some precious items on their ship worth a good sum of money. Who knows if someone were to take notice and steal its contents. 

 

Just as Kirumi was going over her dilemma for the 280th time, the Den Den Mushi rings.

 

_ Bala bala bala… bala bala bala…. Click! _

  
“Hello?”

 

Rantaro’s voice came from the other line. “Hi... Kirumi, um I seem to have landed in a tiny bit of trouble.”

 

“It would seem so, given the fact that it is nearly night time and you left this morning to accomplish a task that should have taken you 3 hours at most.”

 

“Ok yes, you are angry.”

 

“Just a little bit.”

 

She hears Rantaro sigh on the other line. “Sorry about that Kirumi, I got caught by the police.”

 

“...Excuse me?”

 

“Ah!! But don’t misunderstand! It was simply a big mistake. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

 

“Of course you were.” Kirumi shakes her head. “Well, tell me where the station is, I’ll be over to pay bail immediately.”

 

“Oh umm… there’s no bail on Haliwater Island.”

 

“What?”

 

“Every person who is accused of a crime must be proven innocent either through a court trial or investigation… that’s how it works.” Rantaro explained. “So, it seems like we’re going to be here for more than just today.”

 

Kirumi pinched the bridge of her nose. She’ll have to make some calls to companies who were expecting them to be on time. “Alright. But are you sure you’re completely innocent?”

 

“Do you not believe me? Kirumi I’m hurt.”

 

“Of course I believe you, it’s just hard to sometimes.” She laughed. “So at least tell me you got supplies and food from the market.”

 

“Um… they caught me before I could buy anything, so no.”

 

“...”

 

“Hey, it’s not like they aren’t open tomorrow! And I’m sure the investigation they’re conducting will go fine.” Rantaro smiled. “There was a guy around my age there, and he seemed pretty smart. I think I can rely on him.”

 

“Ok then. Stay safe.” Kirumi sighed. “And don’t say anything unnecessary.”

 

“Of course. See you tomorrow?”

 

“Hopefully.”

 

_ Click. _

 

…

 

The police allowed him one call. And then he was stuck in an empty room for what seemed like an eternity. Rantaro knows this is a small town, so it shouldn’t take too long for the detectives to get to him. Unless there were a lot of crimes recently?

 

Just as he finished his train of thought, the door opened. In came a tall, but lean looking man. He wore a thick black coat and glasses. Next to him was the younger guy he remembered from before. He was also clad in black but wore a cap that obstructed his eyes. Rantaro sat up in his chair as they came in.

 

The men took a seat in front of Rantaro and laid out a bunch of papers. He pulled out a picture of a young woman in her twenties. “Do you recognize this woman?”

 

Rantaro believed that she was the woman who was laying on the floor. He replied. “No.”

 

“Well, she was the one on the ground next to you. Her name is Imnot Dedd, and she’s currently bruised in the hospital.”

 

“Tragic.”

 

The taller man gave Rantaro a strange look, and Rantaro immediately regretted being born with a mouth.

 

“Anyway, witness testimony reveals that you were the man at the scene of the crime when the police arrived. Is this true?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why were you there?”

 

Rantaro looked towards the younger man on the left, who has been oddly quiet. Maybe he was simply the sidekick to this taller guy. Either way, Rantaro answered truthfully. “I heard a scream from outside and I headed in to figure out what was wrong.”

 

The taller man tapped his chin. “A scream you say?”

 

“Correct.”

 

He looked over his notes and papers and looked back up to Rantaro. “Earlier that day, in the same place, there was a loose dog that ran into the building and knocked over a tower of products.” He furrowed his brows. “That was the source of the scream. But this happened in the opposite direction of the storage closet where Miss Dedd was assaulted.”

 

Rantaro felt his hands start to sweat.  _ Uh oh _

 

“If you had gone into that building because of that scream, you would have been over where the dog had been. But you weren’t. Care to explain why?”

 

Rantaro racked his thoughts about the event… he went towards the small storage closet because…

 

_ Oh right! _ He let out an inner sigh of relief. “When I got to the building I noticed a girl who ran out of the storage closet. She was extremely fast, but I’m sure I noticed her.”

 

“A girl?” The tall man had a confused look on his face. He looked to the younger man next to him. The younger guy looked through his papers and pulled out a picture. He gave it to the taller man, and the taller man looked it over. He nodded and flipped the picture over so Rantaro could see. “Was this perhaps the girl you saw?”

 

Rantaro looked down at the picture. It was a girl, and she had the same long black pigtails that he had noticed before, but this photo was much more detailed. She had red eyes, as well as a small mole under her left eye. His clothes were mostly black with red accents all around.  _ I guess that’s an aesthetic. _

 

Rantaro looked back at the tall man and nodded. “Yes, this was most certainly the girl I saw.”

 

The taller man sighed, and looked over to the shorter man with a face that screamed ‘ _ ah shit here we go again _ ’. The younger man looked down but just shrugged.

 

There was a long silence of shuffling papers as the two men looked over the evidence from the incident. It felt like forever until Rantaro hears the taller man pat the younger guy on the back and gestured towards Rantaro as if he was saying, “go on!”

 

Rantaro looked at the younger guy expectantly, as he gathered up the notes on the table and began to speak. “...Umm, so after our investigation, we are fairly certain that you had nothing to do with this incident. After all, you’re not from our town, are you?”

 

Rantaro raises his eyebrows. “No, I’m not. How did you know?”

 

“Well, our town is fairly small, so the locals know each other pretty well. When no one knew who you were, we thought you must have been a pirate, but given your whole attitude and personality, it didn’t quite fit. But after some digging, we realized that your green hair must have meant…”

 

“Amami Trading.” Rantaro realized.

 

The younger man nodded. “Yes. And then after this questioning, I’m more certain that you're not the culprit. After all, you spotted her leaving.”

 

“Her?”

 

“Yes, she has been frequently spotted committing small crimes such as stealing food and clothes. It’s been going on for about a year now. We usually let it go since she’s just a street kid, and she hasn’t committed anything large.”

 

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “Large?”

 

The smaller man nodded. “Yes, like… murder or robbing a bank… the most harm she has done was minor bruising such as this case, but it’s never very severe and no bones have ever been broken.”

 

Rantaro gave the young man a confused look. “But when I came over to check on the woman on the ground, it seemed like she could have been dead.”

 

“Some people are…” The younger man struggled for words. “A bit more melodramatic…. The woman is physically fine but I think the girl must have spooked her pretty bad.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

The large man nodded. “Yes, yes. Good job Shuichi.” The younger man smiled a little, though it was hard to tell with the hat.

 

Rantaro stared.  _ Shuichi… huh. _

 

He looked towards the two men, still cleaning up their notes. Rantaro coughed to get their attention. “So um, am I able to leave now?”

 

The younger guy, Shuichi, looked startled when Rantaro coughed but said nothing. The older man picked up for him. “Yes, of course. Be safe on your way back.”

 

“I will.” Rantaro nodded, and headed out of the room, following the two men in black.

 

Rantaro made his way out of the police station. Once he was outside, he took in a large breath of air.  _ Freedom smells delicious. _

 

He began to make his way back towards the ship.

 

…

 

Kirumi had fallen asleep until she was rudely awakened by thumping on the deck of their ship. She sat upright and grabbed the nearest blunt object she could find. 

 

Sure, her job description was a ‘maid’, but she is trained to learn how to handle a fight and fend off thieves. After all, she was the Amami family maid. And it was important to them that she would be able to protect the business should it ever be in trouble.

 

And to protect the Amamis as well.

 

She peered through the small window from the servants quarters of their ship and spotted a small figure climbing around on the deck.  _ She must be searching for a way into the hull. _

 

Before the small girl could figure out where the latch to the door was, Kirumi knocked her out. Granted, it wasn’t a very polite way to treat a stranger, but she had to be cautious. Kirumi tied the girl to the mast of their ship and waited for her to wake.

 

While she was waiting, Rantaro returned. He had explained how everything had gone at the police station, and Kirumi was just glad he was alright. As Rantaro climbed aboard the ship he noticed the new addition Kirumi had added.

 

“Umm Kirumi? Why is that girl here?”

 

“That girl?” Kirumi raised her eyebrows. “You know her?”

 

“Sort of. She was the one who caused the incident I got caught up in today.”

 

“Ah, I see.” Kirumi looked back at the girl. She was fairly young, but she couldn’t have been much younger than Rantaro and herself. Her clothes were a bit dirty and the mole under her eye was almost unseen from the dirt that covered her face.

 

Rantaro glanced curiously at Kirumi. “So, may I ask why she is tied up here on our ship?”

 

“Well, just earlier she decided to try and steal our possessions.”

 

“So you knocked her out.”

 

“So I knocked her out.”

 

Granted, the girl seemed like she could use the rest. Rantaro only shook his head. “Well when she wakes up, explain the situation to her and let her go.”

 

“Of course sir.”

 

After clarifying tomorrow’s details with Kirumi, Rantaro made his way into the captain’s quarters to rest. Kirumi brought a blanket outside and sat and waited for the girl to wake up.

 

…

 

Maki woke up to a menacing glare. She jumped and tried to get away until she realized that she couldn’t. His body was tied to a large pole behind her.

 

She looked back to the glare and found a woman staring at her. She had short, pale blonde green hair and she wore an elegant and professional looking servant’s dress. And she continued to stare at Maki.

 

Confused at how she landed in this situation, it suddenly hit her that this was the ship she had tried to scavenge food from the night before.  _ So I was caught. _

 

Gathering her courage, she looked at the tall woman before her. “What are you planning to do? Are you pirates?”

 

The taller woman quietly eyed Maki, as if she was analyzing her every move. “No. We’re not. And I haven’t decided what to do with you yet.”

 

_ Oh no, that wasn’t a good line. _ Maki glared at her. Maybe enough hard looks would turn the tables around and she would be scared of Maki instead of Maki being intimidated by her.

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t work. But Maki didn’t want to give in. The last thing she wanted to do was to plead for her life.

 

She kept shooting glares back at the tall woman that she didn’t realize the man that came up from behind her.

 

“Um, Kirumi. There’s no need to have a staring contest.”

 

“Mister Rantaro!” The tall woman, Kirumi, turned towards the man, startled by his appearance behind her. He was wearing common clothes, a large dark blue t-shirt with a fancy compass imprinted on it. He had numerous rings on his fingers and piercings on his ears. And when she looked up…

 

“AH!!”

 

Kirumi and the guy turned to look at her as if she was string cheese that was peeling itself. They had questions written all over their faces and their stance demanded an explanation for her sudden outburst.

 

Which is completely reasonable, the cry that Maki had just let out was a little bit too loud and too early in the day. She could rival a rooster. Maki hesitated a little before she spoke up.

 

“Um, you!” She looked at the man. “Your hair color… it’s the same as my best friend’s.”

 

“Your best friend?” The man began to pale.

 

“Yeah. Her name is Akari and she’s a bit younger than me. But she has the same green hair as you. That’s why I was so startled, I’d never seen anyone else with that color hair before-”

 

“Your best friend’s name is Akari and she has green hair?!?!?!” The man crouched down so that he was eye level with Maki, and he grabbed her shoulders. This instantly awoke her fight or flight response and since she was tied to a pole, that meant she headbutted the man in the forehead.

 

The green-haired man fell back, rubbing his temple. The tall woman looked like she was ready to kill Maki right then and there but the green-haired man raised a hand as if to tell her to halt.

 

“Sorry about grabbing you like that, I shouldn’t have.” The green-haired guy said. He sat back up and took a deep breath. “Your friend’s name is Akari, do you know her last name?”

 

“Her last name...” Maki thought about the time she spent with Akari, she didn’t know a whole lot. Just that she was left alone like Maki was. So she shook her head.

 

The green-haired guy sighed. The taller woman patted his back. “Do you think it could be her?”

 

“It must be!” The guy said back. “How many other green-haired girls are there that are named Akari and under the age of 17? It must be her…”

 

_It must be her…_ _are these people looking for Akari…? That’s troubling._ Maki noticed the concerned glances between the two people. She hesitated for a second before speaking. “Um, are you guys looking for Akari?”

 

The man looked back at Maki. He nodded. “Yes, we are. She’s my sister.”

 

_ A sister. That makes a lot of sense. _ Maki thought.

 

“At least… we hope she is. Your friend I mean, the same as my sister…” The man clarified. Maki nodded.

 

“I get it.” She looked down at her feet before breaking the news to them. “Well, unfortunately, Akari isn’t here anymore.”

 

“What?!” The green-haired man exclaimed. Maki flinched.

 

“She left with a group of sea travelers a while ago.”

 

The green-haired guy smacked his face with his hands. “Damn it! ...Why Akari? Why can’t you just stay in one place?” Maki felt sorry for him. 

 

Kirumi looked back at Maki. “Do you have any idea where she could have gone?” Maki thought about it for a minute. It has been a while since Akari was with her, but it wasn’t too long ago.

 

“I think she left about 2 or 3 weeks ago… she and a few other people I know wanted to leave the island and go adventuring so they joined this group called the Rolling Sailors or something…” Maki looked at the green-haired man. “That’s all I know.”

 

“Rolling Sailors…” The man repeated. He looked towards Kirumi. “Ever heard of them?”

 

“No…” Kirumi replied. “Usually small groups of sailors like that don’t get much coverage in newspapers and stuff. As long as they aren’t pirates and they don’t commit crimes, it doesn’t get featured or headlined so the only people who would have information about them are locals.”

 

The man tsked. “Darn.”

 

Maki felt extremely out of place, she struggled with the rope that tied her to the mast before speaking. “Uh, so about my situation…”

 

“Oh right of course.” The green-haired guy spoke up. “Kirumi, we agreed that she didn’t cause any harm to anything on our ship, so…”

 

Kirumi made a face but agreed with the green-haired guy. “We should let her go.”

 

_!! YEs, oh thank the heavens! _ Maki internally celebrated as Kirumi untied the ropes to the mast, and Maki stood up. She was just about to leave before she felt someone grab her arm.

 

The man looked back at her, with a playful smile on his face. “Now then, in exchange for setting you free and letting you go, you’re going to tell us all about Akari and the Rolling Sailors.”

 

Maki gave him a startled look. “But I don’t know anything else?”

 

Rantaro laughed. “But you know about this town fairly well, don’t you? And you must have known Akari very well too since you were Best Friends and all. I’m sure that as an older brother, it should be my duty to take care of my sisters Best Friend, don’t you agree?”

 

Maki gave him a straight stare. “...No.”

 

He laughed again and dragged Maki back to town with him. After attempting to free herself from his grip,  _ how was he so strong what the hell he has the stature of a noodle, _ she gave up and complacently went along with the green-haired guy. It’s not like she had anything better to do other than steal more food for tonight’s dinner, which could wait.

 

After the green-haired guy realized that Maki had stopped struggling, he let go of her wrist. He looked back at her with a smile. “Now that we’re here, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rantaro Amami, and I’m looking for my lost sisters.”

 

Maki gave a questioning glance. “Sisters? As in plural?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Oh ok.” She nodded. “How many do you have?”

 

“Twelve.”

 

“Twelve?!”

 

“Yup.”

 

Maki looked exasperated, “And you lost ALL of them?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“How in the-” She tried to wrap her mind around the idea. “What- Why- How did this happen??”

 

Rantaro breathed deeply and gave her a sad look. “I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Den Den Mushi - a phone
> 
> Also, the island names are also just randomly generated because I have no creativity


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what, I'm back? yeah I didn't believe it either

Shuichi was concerned. The number of incidents where that pigtailed girl appeared is beginning to grow. Which is strange, if she had always been on the streets then wouldn’t the number of times she steals still be the same over time? Why was she taking more food?

 

His uncle told him not to worry about such things since you know, she was just a girl on the streets and she wasn’t doing that much harm. But still, Shuichi felt curious. He wanted to know the entire situation, he wanted to know the truth.

 

“Hey, Shuichi! Come over here.” His uncle’s voice called out from his office. Shuichi gathered his case notes and walked over. They were done with the Amami boy, which went a lot smoother than Shuichi imagined it to be, but he just can’t shake off the feeling that the green-haired guy had a larger role in something….

 

The current case they were on was just another cheating scandal. Which, even though Shuichi would never say this out loud, was getting kind of old. After a while, the stories from betrayed wives begin to blend. Like watching too many shows from the same genre.

 

But Shuichi liked helping out his uncle. He liked being a detective, even though many police in the force don’t really treat him as such…

 

Shuichi arrived at his uncle’s office and sat down in front of his desk. His uncle brought out a couple of files and placed them in front of Shuichi. “We’ve got a new case.”

 

“What is it this time?”  _ Please, no more cheating couples… _

 

“A missing girl.” His uncle huffed. “Her name is Akari Amami.”

 

“Akari Amami…” Shuichi repeated.  _ Amami… _

 

_ Amami??! _

 

“Wait, uncle, did you say-”

 

His uncle nodded. “Yup, it was the same boy from yesterday that requested for a search to be done.”

 

“But…” Shichi pondered. “Wait for a second, can we even accept a case like this? Isn’t this more of a Private Investigator’s job?”

 

His uncle laughed. “Does it look like our town has a Private Investigator? Don’t be so sticky about it, they’re practically the same thing!”

 

“There is a difference…”

 

“Don’t worry about it, besides, the boy who asked specifically requested that you take on this case by yourself.”

 

“Me?” Shuichi asked.

 

“Yup, you.” His uncle smiled. “I asked him why he would ask such a young boy to be in charge of such an important case and he just said that he believed you were right for the job. He must have been impressed by your investigation yesterday.”

 

Shuichi stood in awe. He got his own case, he wasn’t some assistant to his uncle this time or some Boy Detective at the precinct, he had his own case!

 

And it wasn’t about a cheating couple!

 

Shuichi smiled at his uncle. “Well of course! Tell him that I accept his offer to look for his sister!”

 

“Atta boy. Here you go.” Uncle Saihara handed over a small stack of files to Shuichi. Shuichi immediately began going through them and scanning over each page. Soon he began to realize…

 

“Um, uncle, you said he was looking for Akari Amami.”

 

“Mhmm.”

 

“But, after looking over this case, there are at least twelve different Amamis reported to be missing in this folder. ...Did they just screw up her name twelve times?”

 

His uncle let out a hearty laugh. “Why don’t you ask him? You’re a private investigator, aren’t you?”

 

Shuichi made a face. “I’m actually a detective.” He mumbled and left his uncle’s office to call the Den Den Mushi number in the file.

 

After a couple of rings, the line picked up. “Hello! This is Rantaro Amami speaking.”

 

“Ah um…”  _ Come on Shuichi, conversation, not an interrogation. The difference is subtle, but there. You can do it. _ “Yes, this is Shuichi Saihara from Saihara Detective Agency, you had a case about your missing sister?”

 

“Yes! Sisters. Plural. It’s important.”

 

“Ah…” Oh no. Shuichi adjusted his cap. “Well, is there a time you’re free today when we can meet?”

 

“Of course!” Rantaro replied. After clarifying the time and location, Shuichi set out for his first solo detective work.

 

Even if it was meant more for a Private Investigator.

 

…

 

After walking around for a while with pigtail girl. Rantaro realized, “Hey wait a second, I don’t even know your name!”

 

The pigtailed girl turned back to stare at him. “Why do you need to know?”

 

“So I can call you something else other than ‘pigtail girl’, it’s called decency.”

 

She rolled her eyes. Honestly, the more time Rantaro spent with pigtail girl, the more edgy and sarcastic she has become. And to think that she was so cautious and frightened before.

 

After a while, the girl finally answered. “Maki. Maki Harukawa.”

 

“Maki huh…” Rantaro thought about what else he should say… “It’s nice, succinct, cute-.”

 

Maki gave him a cold stare. “You don’t have to force yourself to complement it. We’re not on a date.”

 

“Right.”

 

Rantaro turned to focus on his sister. Or sisters, in fact. He thought that maybe by locating one sister, it might get easier to find the others. They couldn’t be too far away from each other.

 

Although, seeing how Akari has decided to start her own adventure, Rantaro became more and more worried. What if all his sisters decided to have their own adventures, how in the world was he supposed to find them then?

 

He took a deep breath. _ Just relax _ , for starters, he should focus on finding Akari. After all, they have a lead.

 

Earlier that day, Rantaro had met with the tall detective from yesterday. Mr. Saihara. He was very kind and gave off a very large ‘dad’ feeling. Rantaro had told the detective about his missing sisters and he wished for his younger protege, which he now knew to be his nephew, to help him.

 

So now, he and Maki headed towards the small park on the side of town to meet with the younger detective, Shuichi.

 

Once they made it there, Shuichi took one look at Maki and screamed.

 

He didn’t scream very loud, it was much softer than Maki’s sudden outburst last night, but it still attracted the gaze from the people passing by. And then Rantaro realized that he had forgotten. Maki’s face was on profile to the detectives already.  _ Oh boy. _

 

“You! What are you doing with him?” Shuichi explained.

 

Maki looked at Shuichi, confused, “I was… coerced.”

 

Amami almost smacks her. “Don’t say that! You consented completely.”

 

Shuichi gave the two of them a strange gaze like he was trying to figure out their relationship. He looked back at Maki and told her, “O-Our agency has reported on you and your thefts, w-we can a-arrest you if we need to so I suggest you be careful…”

 

Rantaro stared at the young guy. Harsh. I did not expect that.

 

Maki glared at him. “I suggest you don’t.”

 

Rantaro patted Maki on the shoulder and turned to Shuichi, “Sorry about my surprise guest, we found her on our ship last night. I bet you could guess what she was trying to do.”

 

“Food, correct?”

 

Maki looked away from Shuichi. Rantaro nodded. “Yeah.”

 

Shuichi nodded and pulled out a notepad as he wrote some things down. He looked back up at the girl. “Recently, you’ve been gathering more and more food, the rise in your thefts are on the rise. What is the reason behind this?”

 

Maki gave him a cold glare. “It’s none of your business.”

 

Rantaro once again put his hand on Maki. He laughed a forced laugh, “Alright now, no need to attack each other, this isn’t an interrogation for Pete’s sake.”

 

“Ah, sorry.” Shuichi flinched backward and grabbed the brim of his hat. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like-”

 

Maki shrugged off Rantaro’s hand and walked towards the park. Rantaro forced out a laugh and beckoned Shuichi to follow them.

 

When they got to the park, they eat took a seat at one of the small picnic tables set up on the grassy fields. Shuichi pulled out all the notes on Rantaro’s sisters and Maki looked like she was ready to take a nap.

 

Shuichi picked up one of the papers and looked to Rantaro. “So, Akari is the only sister we have some information on where she could have gone, correct?”

 

Rantaro nodded.

 

Shuichi looked over her paper again. “You said that the last time anyone saw her on this island was before she left with the group called the Rolling Sailors right?’

 

Rantaro nodded again. “So do you have any idea who these Rolling Sailors could be?”

 

Shuichi pondered for a second before shaking his head. “I do remember a crew of sailors that had stayed in town for a long time, but I don’t remember seeing a girl with green hair with them.”

 

“Well, that’s because she only joined last minute. It was probably the day before she left.” Maki piped up out of nowhere.

 

Shuichi eyed her suspiciously. “You know Akari personally?”

 

Maki hesitated, then nodded.

 

“Do you have any idea what her reasons for departure are? And anything on where the Rolling Sailors could have gone?”

 

“Not really…” Maki answered. “I know that she only stayed on the island because she was waiting for someone. But I think she left because she gave up hope of them trying to find her.”

 

Rantaro wanted to bury himself in the ground. “How long was she on this island?”

 

“About a year or two I think.”

 

“A year or two…” Rantaro remembers every instance that he had lost a sister. From the ones where he was personally on the ship to the ones where he was told the news afterward. Akari... she vanished when Rantaro was 15… but it felt like so long ago.

 

Shuichi’s voice pulled Rantaro out of his train of thought. “Do you know what she was trying to accomplish with the Rolling Sailors?”

 

“At first I thought she just wanted some adventure but now that I think about it more…” Maki bit her thumb while she was thinking. “She might have left in hopes that she would run into you, Rantaro.”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yeah, she probably knew you were going to come back for her but she felt useless just waiting around. She probably wanted to do something about it.”

 

Rantaro sighed. “Akari…”

 

Shuichi nodded as he jotted the information down. “So now we just need more information on where the Rolling Sailors could have gone to.” He turned to Maki. “Is there anyone else on this island that you know that have been in contact with them before?”

 

Rantaro saw a beat of sweat fall from maki’s cheek. “...No.”

 

Rantaro wasn’t sure, but he thinks that Maki lie-

 

“Don’t lie to me.” Shuichi piped up. “You know someone don’t you?”

 

_ Well. _ Rantaro raised his eyebrows.  _ I wouldn’t have said anything, but I guess if she DOES know something... _   “Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone else.”

 

Maki looked at Shuichi when Rantaro said those words. Rantaro eyed Shuichi. “Right? Shuichi?”

 

Shuichi’s eyes widened and then he looked down, his hat covering his eyes completely. “Right.”

 

Maki sighed and stood up from the picnic table. “I can’t believe I’m trusting you guys.”

 

Rantaro and Shuichi followed her actions and got up from the picnic table as well. Rantaro looked back at Maki. “So… where are we going?”

 

For a second, Maki gave him a sad expression before turning away from him completely. “My home.”

 

…

 

Maki doesn’t know what happened. She figured she could trust Rantaro with her secret, after all, he was Akari’s brother and didn’t seem to have any evil intentions. But the detective on the other hand…

 

What was his name, Shuichi? He was almost the same age as Maki, but obviously, they had very different lives.

 

Yeah, he reeked of distrust, but Maki couldn’t get him away.

 

She doesn’t understand why Rantaro had to bring this detective person along with them. Maki could have brought only Rantaro to her home instead of both him and the sketchy detective.

 

Either way, she won’t let them get too close.

 

They made their way into a small abandoned part of town. The walls were ragged and the houses were all empty. Maki was familiar with the scenery, but both Shuichi and Rantaro weren’t. And it showed.

 

“Um, Maki… are you sure this is the right direction?” Rantaro piped up. It seemed like he was asking for Shuichi, who was trying to cover as much as his eyes as possible.

 

Maki sighed. “Don’t worry, I know where we’re going.”

 

After going through the rather empty part of town, Maki led them through a small alleyway and into a secluded section behind it. The atmosphere was instantly better than before. In the center of the open section sat a small house that looked rather well kept. There were green grass and flower pots, as well as colorful chalk that decorated the concrete pavement and the walls. When Shuichi finally uncovered his eyes, he took a breath of relief. Rantaro laughed.

 

Maki was just about to knock on the door when a flood of kids ran towards them from the backside.

 

“Maki!! Big Sis Maki is home!”

 

“Yay! We’ve been so worried since you didn’t come home last night??”

 

“...Maki... Greedie stole my candy again….”

 

“I didn’t NOT!”

 

“I saw it he did, he did Big Sis Maki!!”

 

Maki crouched down. “Yes, yes. I hear you. Greedie did you steal Wynne’s candy?

 

The kid looked at the ground. “He… He wasn’t eating it so….”

 

Maki gave him a cold look. “Is that really a good reason to take someone else’s candy?”

 

The kid looked spooked before he stumbled out, “N-No…”

 

“Exactly.” Maki nodded and patted him on the head. “Now go play with the other kids, Big Sis has some adult things to tend to.”

 

The smaller kids all nodded and ran off. Maki sighed and stood back up, only to be met with two very surprised faces.

 

“You know, I never really saw you as someone good with kids.” Shuichi had answered. 

 

Rantaro laughed and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Good with kids? She didn’t smile once-”

 

“You know, I can hear you.” Maki glared. “I grew up around all these kids, so I know them fairly well. They were also with me when the Rolling Sailors came by. It was also where Akari stayed when she was on this island.”

 

Rantaro’s brows furrowed in worry. “Akari….”

 

Maki nodded. “It was refreshing to have Akari here, after all, I had no one else close to my age.” She sighed. “I have a few of the older kids help out sometimes, but they’re still younger than me. I think the oldest kid is maybe 10 now, ”

 

“Oh, that’s why!” Shuichi was scribbling in a notebook. “That’s why you were taking more and more food! Because of the kids.”

 

Maki frowned at the notebook Shuichi was writing in but said nothing of it. “Correct. As kids grow they want more and more stuff, and they’re all growing children so they need to eat much more than they used to.” Shichi nodded and continued writing. A strange silence filled the air, with only Shuichi’s pen making noise. When he was done, Rantaro gave him a look.

 

“...What?”

 

“Nothing,” Rantaro replied. “So who can we ask about the Rolling Sailors?”

 

Maki answered. “Probably the oldest one here, he’s about 10 now. He should be able to remember them the most clearly.” She opened the door to the house and waved for them to come inside.

 

The house inside was cozier and felt larger than it had looked from the outside. There were small drawings done by kids and cheap toys scattered about. On the sides of the room, there were piles of blankets and pillows.

 

Maki looked around to the back area of the house, since the oldest kid, his name was Nowaki, usually handled all the chores there. She raised the flap of cloth separating the two rooms and saw him busy with the laundry.

 

“Hey, Nowaki. We have visitors.”

 

“Visitors? Big sis Maki you’re funny, we never have- ooHH MY GOD WE DO.” He flinches back when he spots Rantaro and Shuichi both enter the back area. “Who are you guys?”

 

Maki sighs and gestures towards Rantaro and Shuichi. “The cap man is a detective named Shuichi, and the green-haired guy is Amami. He’s Akari’s older brother.”

 

Nowaki makes an ‘oh’ face. “That’s why you look so familiar, sir! Sorry about Akari, you came just too late.”

 

“Nowaki. Come on. He already knows.”

 

Rantaro raises his hand. “It’s alright. Nowaki is it? You were friends with Akari too?”

 

“Yes indeed! Me, Akari, and big sis Maki all got along well since we were the older kids you know!” He laughs.

 

Rantaro nodded. “Uh-huh. And do you know who the Rolling Sailors are?”

 

“Yup! They’re the guys who adopted Akari and took her along on their adventures!!”

 

“Yup yup. And do you know WHERE they could have gone?”

 

“I don’t think so.” Nowaki thinks. “I’m pretty sure they mentioned they docked their ship at some town a couple of miles away from here but I forgot the name… I’m sure if you say it I’ll remember it.”

 

“Right of course.” Rantarosighs. He didn’t think they were going to solve everything so soon, but he also didn’t think that they would run into a wall so quickly. He turned to Maki. “Anyway, do you guys have no adult supervision? Is there any adult here?”

 

“You’re looking right at her.”

 

“You’re just seventeen!”

 

“So are you!” Maki sighed. “I have to keep looking after them. I just want to make sure that they don’t have to resort to stealing and all that junk like me. I want them to be able to live out normal happy lives once they grow up.”

 

Maki looks up at the ceiling. “But, I do miss Akari a lot. I want to find her.” She looks at Rantaro. “I want to see her again. She was my best friend. My… only friend.”

 

Rantaro puts his hand on her shoulder. “I want to see her too. And we will. We’ll find her.” Rantaro looks at Shuichi.

 

Shuichi looks up from his notebook. “What? Huh? Am I saying… something…?”

 

Maki rolls her eyes.

 

Pocketing his notebook, Shuichi looked back up at the group. “Well, technically, the precinct doesn’t tend to take any action against small crimes done by small individuals. So I would say that you’re in the safe if you continue stealing as much as you have been.”

 

“Right. Stealing.” Maki nods.

 

“But, since the kids ARE growing older, it makes sense that they would want to eat more and want more things. Education is also another large importance. Maybe getting a job would be best?” Shuichi questions.

 

Maki sighs. “I’ve tried getting a job before, but no one will take me. Everyone knows I'm a thief. And the kids are too young. Nowaki is our oldest and again, he’s ten.”

 

Rantaro pipes up. “Wait, why won’t they take you? How do they know you so well? There has to be one store-”

 

“There isn’t though.” Maki huffed. “I’ve been alone since I was little and I’ve always been stealing from the markets to get by. They all know me very well.”

 

“Then why not coming clean, and telling them that you’re going to stop and try working to better yourself?” Shuichi suggests. “Telling the whole truth might convince them enough?”

 

“They don’t believe me.” Maki shakes her head. “They don’t trust me to change.”

 

Shuichi and Rantaro remain silent for a beat. Nowaki is back hanging clothes up to dry. Rantaro looks at Maki and says, “Maki, aren’t there any official orphanages in this town that can take care of these kids?”

 

Maki looks back at him. “No, I don’t think-”

 

“There is!” Shuichi points out. “There is an orphanage.”

 

“There is?” Maki looks shocked. “That’s the first I’m hearing about it.”

 

“It’s because it’s in another town on the island. It’s a couple of miles away and in good condition too. I went there with my uncle a year ago on a large scale case. It had a lot of nice facilities and it looked well kept as well so I’m sure everyone would be safe there.” Shuichi states. “Our town doesn’t have an orphanage.”

 

“Okay, then what’s the name of the town?”

 

“Mezzaport.”

 

“OHHHHH!!!” Nowaki exclaimed from behind them, causing all three of them to jump. He runs back to the group. “That was the name!”

 

“What name?” Shuichi asks.

 

“The town! Where the Rolling Sailors came from! It was Mezzaport!”

 

“What?” Rantaro shouts. He looked frantically at Maki and Shuichi. They both nod.

 

“What about it Maki?” Shuichi looks at her directly in the eyes. Rantaro is almost a little impressed he could. “Do you think we could move the kids there? It would be a large burden off of your shoulders. You wouldn’t have to keep stealing for them, and you could follow Rantaro on his journey to find Akari.”

 

Maki sweats. “I- I don’t know if I could-”

 

“Are you leaving big sis Maki?” Nowaki looks up at her. The other kids who have been overhearing the conversations walk in as well.

 

“You guys…”

 

Wynne has tears in his eyes. “Big sis Maki is leaving?”

 

“Wait she’s leaving? But then how will we get our food and candy?” Greedie pipes up.

 

“Don’t go big sis Maki!” The kids cried. “Don’t go! Don’t go!”

 

Maki crouches down. “I’m not going anywhere without making sure you guys are ok.” She sighs. “Up until now, I’ve been trying my hardest to get you guys all the stuff you need, but it’s getting harder and harder for big sis.”

 

Rantaro nods and squats down as well. “We found a home away from here that’ll have all the food and candy you could imagine.”

 

“We’re leaving the house?” Nowaki asks. “Where are we going then?”

 

Maki looks back at him. “There’s another large house in another town that will be happy to take us in. And there are other kids there to play with too!”

 

“Other kids?” Greedie asks.

 

“Yup!” Maki nods. “It’ll be a lot of fun, and you guys will get all the food and candy you want!”

 

“Oh wow!” All the kids cried, suddenly very excited.

 

“But…” Nowaki cried. “We’re not coming back here? To this house?”

 

Maki gives him a dejected look. “...No. I’m sorry Nowaki. We have to move.”

 

Rantaro nods. “That’s right. Because big sis Maki has to move too.”

 

“Big sis Maki too?”

 

“She’s going to go find Akari again!”

 

Nowaki looks up surprised. “Akari?”

 

Some of the other kids also went wide-eyed when they hear that name. “Akari? Big sis Akari is coming back?”

 

Rantaro laughs. “Yup! And once she finds Akari, she’s going to come back with Akari and everyone will be able to play together!”

 

“Oh wow! I can’t wait” Nowaki smiles.

 

Rantaro smiles, and so does Maki… surprisingly. He gets up and turns to Shuichi. “Ok then. How are we going to get there?”

 

Shuichi pulls out a large binder will many folders and files from the satchel he was carrying. He flips through a bunch of pages before landing on a small map. “Ok… if we start today we’ll be there in probably 2-3 days.”

 

Rantaro does a double-take. “Wait, dAYS?!”

 

“Yeah?” Shuichi tilts his head. “We’re going to have to prepare camping supplies and all that jazz like the last time I went.”

 

Rantaro shakes his head. “Um, you guys walked?”

 

“Yes?” Shuichi squints at Rantaro as if he’s a talking avocado. “With your legs. It’s what we do every day?”

 

“There isn’t a train or anything like that on this island?”

 

“I’ve heard of trains before, but I’ve never been on one no.”

 

“Ohhh my god.” Rantaro holds his face in his hands.

 

“Well sorry, not everyone can be rich and sail around the globe with no care-”

 

“Hush your face.” Rantaro perks up. “I think I brought it.”

 

Shuichi gives him a weird glance. “Brought what?”

 

Rantaro smiles. “Alright guys, follow me! We’re going on a trip!!”

 

The kids cheer and head out of the house with Rantaro in the lead. Maki follows behind. Shuichi is left agape before he snaps out of it and follows Rantaro as well.

 

…

 

Shuichi knew Rantaro was rich. But he never grasped the feeling of “being rich” until he was met with a fully automatic vehicle.

 

“What… is…”

 

Rantaro laughs. “This is one of our automobiles, and it will cut your 3-hour long walking trip into nothing. I remember I had it stowed on the ship just in case. Thank goodness Kirumi could get it out of there…”

 

“Who’s Kirumi?”

 

“Oh, she’s one of our family’s maids. She’s over there… oh. And she’s coming down.”

 

A young lady with short mint colored hair and a long maid’s dress comes towards their group. She had an aura of professionalism with her. She waves hello at the group.

 

“This is Kirumi.” Rantaro gestures. All the kids wave back at Kirumi. Shuichi does too. Rantaro turns back to Kirumi. “Thanks for getting this out from the hold. And sorry for all the time we’re wasting.”

 

Kirumi shakes her head. “Not at all. After all, our main goal is to find your sisters. And I’ve already called all our clients to tell them about our delay and they were all very understanding.”

 

“Wow. How’d you swing that?” Rantaro asks.

 

“I just told them that we were stuck with tough sailing weather. It’s very believable since it happens all the time.”

 

Rantaro laughs. “Yeah yeah.”

 

“Anyway. ”Maki squints at Rantaro and his… vehicle. “How and why did you get that thing here? It’s huge.”

 

“I figured we would need some type of land roving vehicle if we were going to search every nook and cranny for my sisters, so I made sure to bring one.” Rantaro pats the vehicle’s side. “And since our ship is used to carry a lot of trading goods and cargo, it can easily also carry one of these.”

 

“I see.”

 

“So? What are we waiting for? Let’s ride!!” Rantaro says as he opens the doors on his vehicle-thing. Shuichi was still confused about the massive gap in lifestyle but saved his massive pile of burning questions for later. He sat inside the… thing with all the other kids and Maki. Once comfortable. Rantaro hopped behind the front seat and waved goodbye to Kirumi. 

 

He looked back and gestured at Shuichi to come up to the front seats and sit with him. Confused, Shuichi followed his request. Rantaro smiled. “I’m going to need that map of yours if I want to know where we’re going.”

 

“Oh right, of course.” Shuichi rummages through his belongings and pulls out the map of the island he wrote on. He points Rantaro towards their destination and the vehicle-thing makes a loud rumble and it begins to move forward.

 

_ oh MY GOD!! _ Shuichi was completely thrown off guard. He wobbles and holds the door for safety. The vehicle-thing continues to move forward at a much faster rate than walking. Soon, it becomes smooth riding and the trees, mountains, and fields blow right by them.

 

The kids are having a grand time, they’re amazed by the fast-moving landscape before them. Maki is glued to the windows as well.

 

_ Huh. _ Shuichi thinks.  _ There’s so much out there that I don’t know. _ He looks over at Rantaro. 

 

_ And… I kinda want to know. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically. I've never seen a car in one piece.
> 
> No, the primary traveling... things are ships. I don't think I've ever seen them in a car. But they do have car-like things on some islands and from some devil fruits, I'm not sure. But it for sure isn't a common thing. Most people either sail ships, take a train (if the island has a train) or just walk from everywhere to everywhere.
> 
> So I thought, well the word is wide enough, surely there is some kind of automobile work somewhere. So here it is.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll

They arrive at Mezzaport in around 30 minutes. Maki is astonished. She had never seen the land travel so fast around her before. And they got to the next town so quickly too!  _ No wonder Akari was itching to leave this island, there’s so much more to see. _

 

Rantaro smiled as he watches Shuichi climb out of the vehicle a tad disoriented. “So, how did you like your first car ride?”

 

“A… car?” Maki asked.

 

Rantaro. “Yeah, it’s a better word to use. Quit calling it a ‘vehicle’ it makes you guys seem like aliens.”

 

Shuichi sighed, Maki tsked back at Rantaro. “You’re more of the alien here you know? With your foreign ‘cars’ and weird green alien hair.”

 

“Hey! This is genetic, I can’t help it.”

 

Shuichi gave a small laugh. “Anyway, we’re here now. The orphanage isn’t far from the center of town. 

 

Maki’s mind snaps back to what was happening. “Right.” The orphanage. Her family will finally have a safe and stable place to stay, she felt relieved but torn at the same time about leaving them. It felt like she was just tossing away her responsibilities.

 

As the group followed Shuichi closely to their destination, Rantaro gave Maki a tap on the shoulder. “How are you holding up?”

 

“I’m… fine.” Maki said.

 

“That doesn’t sound like the tone of someone who is fine.” He replies. “Look I know I sprung the whole ‘searching for Akari with Rantaro’ on you in the heat of the moment, and I’m really sorry about that.”

 

“No, it’s not that.” Maki sighed. “Well, yes. It is that.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Maki stares into nothing for a while. Avoiding eye contact with Rantaro. “I just feel like I’m getting off so easy. I had a lot of responsibilities on this island and suddenly I don’t. It was like 3 seconds and everything I needed to care for is gone.”

 

Rantaro nods.

 

“And I’m not sure if I could just up and leave them because they’re… my family. You know?” Maki continues. “It’s a mess.”

 

“I know exactly what it’s like to be apart from your family. Just look at me now.” Rantaro gives a slight chuckle. “Hey. It’s not like you’re never going to see them again right? We can come back to Haliwater Island anytime we want. And next time we do it, it’ll be with Akari too.”

 

Maki looks pensive. She then turns to meet Rantaro in the eyes. “Are you really willing to bring someone like me onto your ship though?”

 

“Someone like you?” Rantaro questioned. “What? A thief? Girl, we already know-”

 

“No no, and what was that last…? Whatever. No.” Maki shakes her head. “I’m… a monster. Before I was stealing food I got home and food in different ways. Ways that I regret.”

 

Rantaro raises an eyebrow. “... Se-”

 

“No, you idiot.” Maki kicks him in the shin. Rantaro crumples. The commotion causes the kids and Shuichi to turn around and walk back towards them.

 

Shuichi shouts. “Everything ok?”

 

Rantaro puts up a hand to gesture to them to stay where they are. “Yeah. Everything is… fine.” He wipes his forehead and shakily stands up. “Man, you can really kick.”

 

Maki gives him a blank stare. “I can also pack a punch. And use a knife. Or a gun.”

 

“Wha.”

 

“I worked as a hitman.”

 

…

 

Rantaro was in a daze. Not only did his shin hurt, so did his head.

 

He glanced over at Maki, who was peacefully walking beside him.  _ She. She worked as a hitman? wh- _

 

“Wait, so you were a hitman?” Rantaro turned to ask her.

 

“Yes.” She replied. “This is the sixth time you have asked me Rantaro.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Maki gives him a look. “I don’t want to talk about it. But I did it to protect my family.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Now do you get why you wouldn’t want me on your ship?”

 

“Oh.” Rantaro looked back. “Wait, who said I didn’t want you on our ship?”

 

“What?”

 

“Um, actually. Yes, I do want you on our ship now. More than ever.” Rantaro explained. “Dude, right now the only security I have is Kirumi and she’s only strictly trained in self-defense and some martial arts.”

 

“Only.” Maki repeated, exasperated.

 

“Yeah, only.” Rantaro clarified. “But you know how to use weapons and violence and whatnot, that would be super useful! Especially on the Grand Line.”

 

Maki gave him a confused look. “But… I could turn on you guys and kill you in your sleep. I could do it.”

 

“Yeah, but you won’t.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“You won’t,” Rantaro replied. “I know you won’t because you’ve actively tried to stop and you have stopped. You don’t work as a hitman anymore because you realized that it wasn’t good for you, correct?”

 

“Right…”

 

“Exactly. I know I said all that junk about you being able to work with us but we won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. Besides, over these two days, you’ve slowly warmed up to us. I can feel it.” Rantaro smiles.

 

Maki glares at him. “That’s a lie.”

 

“It’s not.”

 

“It is.”

 

“... is not.”

 

“It is.”

 

Maki pouts. “It’s… not.” Rantaro lets out a laugh.

 

“You kinda remind me of my little sister.” He chuckles.

 

“Which one?”

 

“Yui. She’s 6.”

 

Maki looks at him pensively. Then she turns back to the group ahead of her. “Why do I feel like you have some sort of little sister complex or something.”

 

“What?”

 

“Everyone you meet just becomes a younger sibling to you. It’s almost painful to watch.”

 

“What?” Rantaro gasps. “It is not like that at all.”

 

Maki shakes her head. “I can’t believe I’m going to set sail with some creepo sister loving dude….” She starts walking faster to catch up with the group.

 

“Hey, don’t phrase it like that! I mean, don’t even- it’s not true!”

 

…

 

Shuichi can hear them talking from the front of the group.  _ Rantaro is such a big brother… _

 

He noticed them catching up to the front, so Shuichi assumed that their little conversation must have ended. That’s good. He was getting tired of-

 

“Mister detective?” A small voice to his left spoke. Confused, Shuichi turned around and was met eye to eye with one of the small children.

 

“Ah! Yeah, what is it.” It’s been a while since the last time he’s looked directly into someone’s eyes. Except for that one time with Maki, what was that anyway? It was like some sort of heroic energy filled him with courage he never knew about before…

 

Anyway, the problem with kids is that Shuichi’s hat doesn’t help that much. The brim doesn’t cover the bottom part of his eyes after all, and all the kids were much shorter, so Shuichi always sees their full face unless he was to crouch down.

 

“Why are big sis Maki and big bro Rantaro so slow?” The kid asked. Shuichi couldn’t remember all their names in such little time. He doesn’t know how Maki and Rantaro do it. Yeah, he’s a detective, but he isn’t like… Megamind.

 

“Hmmm, it’s because they’re talking.”

 

“What are they talking about?” Another kid asks.

 

“Uhm… adult stuff. Don’t worry about it.”

 

The kids all look at each other concerned. Shuichi feels bad for not telling them the entire truth, but it’s not like telling them everything will make them understand more.  _ Just focus on getting to the orphanage Shuichi… _

 

“Uh… mister detective?” Another kid asks. “How much longer until we get there?”

 

“Soon.” Shuichi sighed. He forgot how far the orphanage was. He thought it was much closer before.

 

“Yeah! But when is soon?” A kid squeaked from behind Shuichi.

 

“Soon as in… about 5 minutes.”

 

“Oh…” The kids murmured around themselves. 

 

“I’m excited! I want to see what the nice house looks like!” One kid squealed.

 

“I want to eat the candy they have!”

 

“I want to play with the other kids!” Laughed another kid. And all the kids started giggling about what they were going to do when they get there. Shuichi let out a breath.

 

“Hey what about you mister detective?” Some red-haired girl next to him asked.

 

Shuichi turned to her. “What do you mean?”

 

The redhead poked his leg. “Do you have anything you want to find at the orphanage?”

 

“Um, not particularly-”

 

“Oh! He probably wants to meet new friends like me!” A boy in the back yelled. “Isn’t that right mister detective! There are more kids like me, so there have to be more detectives like you right?”

 

“That’s not a logical conclusion-”

 

“No silly!” The redhead girl turned to the boy who shouted before. “Mister detective is a working man! He already has a bunch of friends, right?” She looked at Shuichi expectantly.

 

Shuichi felt his palms begin to sweat. Why do kids always get to the exact thing he never wants to talk about? “Actually, I don’t....”

 

“What?” The redhead girl yelled. “You don’t have any friends?”

 

“No, that’s not true…” Shuichi said. It wasn’t though. He had friends, he went to school with them, he has friends… they’re just not that close. At all.

 

He had been obsessed with crime and mystery solving ever since he was introduced to his uncle’s workplace. And since then, he hasn’t made that much of an investment in his social relationships.

 

“So you do have friends?” The redhead girl asks again. “...oh! Duh! Big sis Maki and Big bro Rantaro are your friends right?”

 

All the kids murmured in understanding. “Oh, right! Right!”

 

“Wait what?” Shuichi didn’t see this coming. “No, they’re not- I mean… are they? Huh?” Shuichi held his head. Were they friends now? It’s been too long since Shuichi had met new people…  _ How do you make friends again? _

 

“Mister detective?” A kid next to him tapped his knee. “Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine.”

 

“Shuichi!” Rantaro’s voice shouted from behind him. “You good?”

 

“Rantaro…” Shuichi looked up to see Rantaro and Maki running towards them. Oh, right. Apparently, he had stopped in the middle of the road. “Sorry to cause all this commotion.”

 

“Who cares about that? Are you alright? Not sick or anything right?” Rantaro asked.

 

“No no, I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you.” Shuichi let out a soft laugh.

 

Maki squinted harshly at Rantaro. “I think I’m right.”

 

“What?”

 

“You do have quite the complex.” Maki sighed. “Actually it might be better to call you a mom instead of a big brother.”

 

“What?”

 

Shuichi nodded. “That does make a lot of sense.”

 

“What?” Rantaro said again, insulted even more. It caused Shuichi to laugh and even got Maki to smile a bit. The kids giggled along just by seeing the three of them have a good time.

 

As they finally began to see the orphanage on the horizon, the little redhead girl pulled on Shuichi’s pants again. Shuichi looked down into her eyes. “Mister detective? I’m glad you have such good friends!” She smiled.

 

“Yeah.” Shuichi smiled back. “I really do.”

 

…

 

Checking in the kids to the orphanage went rather smoothly. The facilities were pretty organized and the staff was all friendly and understanding. Rantaro and Shuichi wrapped up and headed outside to wait for Maki to say her goodbyes.

 

“So…” Rantaro began. “Who do you think we can ask about the Rolling Sailors and Akari?”

 

Shuichi put his hand near his mouth, a common gesture he does while he is in thought. “I don’t think we can get much information on Akari specifically. But I’m sure that there must be more people in this town that know about the Rolling Sailors.”

 

“Of course. They docked here, right?”

 

“Right,” Shuichi replied. “So I think we should ask the locals that work around the harbor. And maybe the market sellers as well since travelers would often visit those places.”

 

Rantaro nodded. “Ok, what about a bar?”

 

“A bar?” Shuichi asked. “Why a bar?”

 

“I just thought that since, you know… sailors, pirates, people of the sea, usually like to party it up with alcohol. Yeah?”

 

“I’m.... not sure about that.” Shuichi scratched his head. “Also, we’re both underage.”

 

Rantaro rolls his eyes. “I assure you, nobody in the world cares about drinking laws.”

 

“I care!”

 

“No one in a bar.”

 

Shuichi crossed his arms. “We don’t need to go into a bar, Rantaro. I’m sure we’ll get plenty of information without doing so.”

 

“Fine.” Rantaro shifted his weight as a weird silence fell between the two.

 

Shuichi took a breath in. “So… is Maki officially on your trip now?”

 

“Yeah. She is.” Rantaro answered. “After all, how else is she going to see Akari and bring her back to meet with the kids?”

 

“Yeah but…” Shuichi bit his lip. “Look, I don’t want to sound negative but what if you end up not finding her? Like you come back empty-handed?”

 

Rantaro gave Shuichi a piercing stare. It froze him to the bones, Shuichi couldn’t get his hand to move his hat brim enough to cover the connection between their eyes. “We’ll find her. I’m sure of it.”

 

Shuichi felt like the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees. “Of course…” He subconsciously agreed. Rantaro let out a breath.

 

“Anyway! Speaking of which, when  are you finally going to come on board?” Rantaro asked Shuichi.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, when are you packing? For our trip, to find my sisters.”

 

Shuichi racked his mind for the logic behind Rantaro’s jump to conclusions. “Wait, what? Who said I was going on this quest with you?”

 

“I said!” Rantaro replied. “When I requested that you were to find all my sisters. Your uncle already gave me the ok!”

 

“What?!” Shuichi yelled. He did not know that his uncle had said anything of that sort. That came out of nowhere.  _ He could have at least told me beforehand!! _

 

“Dude. How else am I going to investigate on my own? I played my fair share of trials and detective games but real life is much more different.” Rantaro went on.

 

Shuichi still felt struck. He could go with Rantaro, see a lot more of the world, help him solve the case with his missing sisters, and it would be… so much fun!

 

But again, he felt like he couldn’t. He felt like he was abandoning his town and everything he worked hard for. His uncle, the police force, his (albeit very few) friends... 

 

“I…” Shuichi began. “I would love to Rantaro, really. I would. But I’m conflicted about leaving my home.”

 

Rantaro nods. “I understand. Maki is going through the same thing. I wasn’t sure about asking your uncle for you to help me find my sisters. After all, you’re about the same age as me and you have a lot of jobs here on this island. But your uncle told me that he feels like you’re unhappy here Shuichi.”

 

“He said that?”

 

“Yeah. He explained how he never really saw you out laughing with friends and you usually had your head buried in your crime books or something. And that most of the jobs that you guys take at the detective agency are mindless couple cheating crimes and he could tell that you were getting sick of it.”

 

Shuichi sighed.  _ I’m not… THAT transparent. Am I? _

 

“I’m not asking you to leave your town forever,” Rantaro explains. “After all, the main goal of our journey is to find my sisters and I would really appreciate it if you came along with me.”

 

Shuichi stares into his cap brim. Never has he ever had such a down to earth and emotional talk from someone. It felt way different from the usual plain stuff he and his friends talked about. It felt so much more real.

 

This guy was genuinely asking for Shuichi to help him find his sisters and to join him on his ship. Shuichi felt… overjoyed. Like he’s never been before.

 

He smiles and moves the brim of his hat away from his eyes and he’s met with Rantaro’s green ones.

 

“How could I say no?”

 

…

 

After about ten minutes, Maki thinks she finally got her emotions to calm down.

 

Saying goodbye to her family wasn’t easy. Even if she was eventually going to come back, the Grand Line and sailing were always said to be extremely dangerous and she was afraid of what would happen if she couldn’t make it back.

 

_ Deep breaths Maki… _ She can’t let Rantaro and Shuichi see her like this. A moment of true weakness she would only show in front of her family.

 

Looking in the mirror. It seems like the redness around her eyes has faded a bit. She didn’t cry all that much… Maki was never much of a crier and she tended to hold everything in. But somethings are important and worth crying for.

 

Collecting herself, she walked out of the bathroom to meet Rantaro and Shuichi and begin their search for more information about the Rolling Sailors.

 

…

 

Rantaro and Shuichi greet her as she walks out of the orphanage doors.

 

“Everything good? You said all your goodbyes?” Rantaro asks. Ever the big brother.

 

Maki nods in response. She sees Shuichi smile back at her affirmation.  _ Shuichi looks like he’s in a better mood. _

 

They walk towards the harbor. Shuichi tells Maki and Rantaro that they all should split up, ask as many people for as much information they know, and then meet back at the center of the harbor to update each other.

 

Rantaro and Maki both nodded in agreement and the plan was put into action.

 

Maki made her way to the street vendors near the docks. She walks up to one of them selling fish, looks at the merchant straight in the eye and asks, “Do you have any information about the Rolling Sailors?”

 

The merchant, taken aback by Maki’s straightforward approach, answered. “No, I don’t. I have never heard that name in my entire life.”

 

Maki sighs and thanks the person for their time. She keeps walking and asking over and over again but to no avail. Many of the merchants here don’t seem to pay attention to the people docking in the harbor and buying their stuff.

 

Finally, when Maki turned away from the last merchant, a woman was right in front of her. “Hello! I’m Ino. I overheard you mention the Rolling Sailors?”

 

"Y-Yes,” Maki replied, completely shocked.

 

The woman squealed. “Ah! I love them! They came to my bar the night they were staying here, oh my goodness they were a hoot! Lemme tell ya!!”

 

“Please.”

 

“Yeah, they had just gotten to Haliwater and they were dying for something to do for a little while their shipwright worked on repairing their ship.” The woman went on. “They said they were going to head over to the main city, Haliwater, for some sightseeing and fun.” 

 

“Uh-huh…” Maki droned.  _ I know all this already, I need more info on where they might have gone! _

 

“And! Do you know where they were planning on going after Haliwater?” The woman asked. “Stoneham! Can you believe it!”

 

“Stoneham…”  _ Thanks for making my job easy. _

 

“Yeah seriously! Stoneham! It’s like they’re taking a ‘nobody cares’ tour. There’s absolutely nothing on Stoneham why would you want to go there am I right?” The woman nudged Maki’s arm. Maki let out a strained, fake laugh.

 

“Ha… ha. Yeah of course.”

 

The woman keeps laughing and then stops all too quickly. “Wait. Hang on. They said something before… what was it….”

 

“What was what?”

 

“Augh! It was their motive for going to Stoneham, what- OHH!!!” She screamed. “I remember! They wanted to go to Stoneham to see one of their friends. Apparently, they have connections to someone there and they were going to say hi… ha HA that’s so cute am I right?”

 

Maki slowly shifted away from the woman. “Right…”

 

After humoring the very talkative lady, Maki finally waited around long enough for her to get tired and say goodbye. After waving bye, Maki rushed back to the center of the harbor to tell Shuichi and Rantaro about the news.

 

…

 

Rantaro was a little angry that he could not get much information on the Rolling Sailors.

 

Anything he received was things that he either already knew, or didn’t care about. And after meeting with Shuichi at the center dock, Rantaro learned that Shuichi had also not found anything very conclusive about where the Rolling Sailors could have gone.

 

And as Maki was running up towards them, Rantaro’s expectations were at an all-time low. So when Maki said that she did know where the Rolling Sailors could have headed, Rantaro almost adopted her right there.

 

Maki objected any affection that Rantaro tried to show towards her, of course. And all three of them headed back to Rantaro’s car so that they could head back and prepare to set sail tomorrow.

 

As they drove into Haliwater, Rantaro let out a breath of relief. “Hey, guys. I know this is really, really, cheesy but I want to say thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I am thankful for your two coming along with me and Kirumi on our mission.”

 

“Rantaro…” Shuichi echoed. Maki stared attentively.

 

“I know I sprung this whole thing on you guys out of nowhere, and honestly, I have no right to steal you guys away from your daily lives. And to agree to come with me even after that, I am grateful.” Rantaro continued. “I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure you guys will return home one hundred percent safe.”

 

Shuichi and Maki nodded. Most likely out of words to say. But Rantaro was completely ok with that. He didn’t expect a reply to his small shpeel there.

 

All three of them waved goodbye to each other and slept soundly that night.

 

…

 

The nest morning. Shuichi was up and ready to go. He had never been so pumped up in the mornings before and it felt great.

 

His clothes and books, as well as important case files and possessions, were all packed up and ready to go.

 

Shuichi hugged his uncle and said goodbye with eyes on the brink of tears and he walked towards Rantaro’s ship at the dock.

 

Rantaro was already there and up. Kirumi was there too, she was cleaning up the ship as well as setting up the sails. As Shuichi got closer, Rantaro noticed him and waved at him.

 

Shuichi gave a slight wave back as he approached the massive cargo ship. Rantaro came down and helped him carry his luggage onto the boat. Shuichi didn’t pack that much, he had a small suitcase and a large binder with him and that was the gist of it.

 

After they loaded Shuichi’s things into the ship, Maki showed up empty-handed. Rantaro and Shuichi were a bit confused.

 

“Maki, why don’t you have any bags with you?” Rantaro asked. “We are leaving today, you do know that right?”

 

Maki sighed. “I know. I don’t own anything of much value, and I have been wearing the same set of clothes for quite a long time now so it would be stranger to change.”

 

Shuichi gave her a stranger look, Rantaro laughed. “Well, suit yourself.”

 

He walked back up to Kirumi and gave her a thumbs up. Kirumi began to pull the sails up the mast and the wind quickly broke into it, filling it up like a half-ballon.

 

And as the ship slowly turned away from the harbor and away from Haliwater, Shuichi stared not at Haliwater but the bright blue ocean ahead of them.

 

He couldn't help but think that the future seemed colorful and bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a complete apology for any grammar stuff. 
> 
> English IS my first language. I'm just dumb.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really on a roll

Maki really liked being on a boat.

 

The deep blue ocean was a beautiful sight and the ship was very comfortable too. Well, granted it was one of the Amami family’s cargo ships. It had a lot of space for storage but also plenty of room for the crewmembers to stay and relax.

 

Amami had given them a tour of the ship once they had left the harbor of Haliwater. There was a spacious kitchen and dining area, multiple rooms for the crew members, a small library with some books, maps, and working areas. There was also a small training facility on board. Rantaro had explained that it was for the bodyguards that would sometimes accompany their travels and that Maki was free to use it if she feels like it.

 

Maki hadn’t done much fighting since she quit and ran away from her hitman job. A group of shady men had taken her in and trained her to fight for them in exchange for protecting her family in Haliwater. So in a sense, Maki had left the island before for her jobs. She just never had the freedom to enjoy the world outside. 

 

She stared at the walls of the training facility. She didn’t know if she wanted to get back into fighting again. After all, it was what had messed up her life to begin with.

 

Maki sighed and felt around the back of her shirt. She didn’t bring anything because she didn’t really have anything. But the one thing she did bring…

 

Maki pulled out the knife from behind her. It was clearly used before, but still in good condition. The weight in her palm felt just right.

 

She swung the knife around a couple of times. Maki knew she was done killing, and done following orders from those nasty people but…

 

Maybe this time she could fight for something, or someone, more important.

 

…

 

After Rantaro had given his little tour of the ship, Shuichi hadn’t had enough. He wanted to learn more.

 

He felt bad for Rantaro, who had to constantly answer his questions, but Rantaro’s smile never faded. It seemed like he was enjoying Shuichi’s curiosity.

 

“So, right now,” Shuichi began. “How do you guys know which way to go? How do you not get lost? There’s barely any pointers on the sea.”

 

“Oh, well that’s because of this right here.” Rantaro holds up a spherical compass object. “This is an Eternal Log. It’s very useful for travelers on the Grand Line. Especially trading companies like us who have to be able to travel to specific islands all the time.”

 

“Woah.” Rantaro held out the Eternal Log for Shuichi to see. “You have so many of these, do you have one for every island on the Grand Line?”

 

Rantaro smiled sheepishly. “Well, we have one for most of the island. We do have one for every island that we do business with, but for an island like Stoneham, where we are going right now, we had to go out and buy one in Haliwater.”   
  


“I didn’t even know that Haliwater had Eternal Logs.”

 

“They’re not normally sold in stores. We just got lucky.” Rantaro explained. “There's an abundance of Stoneham Eternal Logs because so many people from Haliwater also have family in Stoneham. The two islands are pretty connected.”

 

Shuichi nodded. That was true, it made sense. “So when are we arriving at Stoneham?”

 

“Probably this afternoon.” Rantaro answered.

 

“What? That fast?!”

 

“Well, Haliwater and Stoneham are fairly close if you look at the map. So it wouldn’t take very long by ship.” Rantaro said. “Especially for a large ship like ours, it travels a bit faster and smoother.”

 

Shuichi studied the map curiously. He never really found that much of an interest in adventuring or sailing, but the more information he knows, the easier it might be to help Amami find his sisters. He looks up at Rantaro. “Um, Rantaro? Is it alright if I stay here and read up a bit about sailing?”

 

Rantaro smiles. “Of course, I don’t see why not. Knock yourself out.” He gathers up his things and heads out of the small library space. PRobably to go check in with Kirumi who is handling the ship.

 

Shuichi flips open the map that Rantaro showed him before. He goes over to the bookshelves and picks out a couple of interesting books and starts reading.

 

…

 

Kirumi is glad that Rantaro had brought Shuichi and Maki along. Although both of them are not the most social animals, it did make the ship feel a lot cozier. She was still handling the ship when Rantaro ran up to her.

 

“Mister Rantaro, hello.”

 

“Hey, Kirumi. How is everything going?” Rantaro asked.

 

“Everything is pretty steady. We should arrive in Stoneham around dinner time.” Kirumi replied. The winds have been fairly compliant and they haven’t been hit with any sort of bad weather yet.

 

“That’s good.”

 

“How are Shuichi and Maki holding up?”

 

“Shuichi is excited about the Grand Line, he’s in the library right now, I think I saw Maki working out in the training facility we have below deck so that’s good too,” Rantaro replied. “I’ll take over for a while, why don’t you start preparing lunch or something.”

 

“Of course Mister Rantaro.” Kirumi complied.

 

“Oh, and take a break before you do too.” Rantaro shouted as Kirumi began walking away. “I know you hate taking breaks but you need it Kirumi! Do stress yourself out!!”

 

Kirumi nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Sure she could take a break, there was still about two hours until lunchtime, but whenever she did take a break it never felt like a break. She hated having nothing to do, and it filled her with anxiousness.

 

Before Kirumi made it to the kitchen she realized,  _ I should probably ask Shuichi and Maki what they would like to eat for lunch _ . Of course, Kirumi could probably pick something that all of them would enjoy regardless, but it was Shuichi and Maki’s first meal on the ship. She wanted to make something special for them/

 

Kirumi headed towards the library since it was the closest to the kitchen. She knocked on the door two times before opening it a crack. “Mister Shuichi? Is it alright if I come in?”

 

There was some shuffling of papers before Shuichi answered. “Yeah! Of course, come in.”

 

Kirumi opened the door completely and was met with Shuichi sitting behind a rather messy desk. “Sorry to bother you.”

 

“None at all! What’s the matter Kirumi?”

 

“I just wanted to ask what you would like for lunch.”

 

“Oh, um…” Shuichi adjusted his cap. “Anything is fine. I’m ok with anything.”

 

Kirumi narrowed her eyes. “Please, tell me what you would like to eat. Surely you have a favorite food?”

 

“Not really…” Shuichi mumbled. “I’m really fine with anything Kirumi, thank you.”

 

Kirumi let out a sigh. “Alright, as you wish.” She closed the door to the library. Earlier that day, she had asked both of them if they had any allergies. Both of them said that they didn’t have any eating restrictions which is good, but also bad. It meant that her selection of what she could make was rather wide.

 

The only person with food restrictions was Mister Rantaro. He couldn’t eat avocados for whatever reason. He just refuses to even touch them... maybe some kind of unexplained vendetta? Hm.

 

No matter. It was only lunch, the meal was meant to be more casual anyway. There shouldn’t be too much of a problem with whatever they eat.

 

Kirumi headed downstairs to the training room. Surely Maki must have something that she likes. She knocked on the training room door and peeked in. “Miss Maki? Are you there?”

 

Maki let out a ragged breath. Sweat was rolling down her forehead. Kirumi stepped into the room.

 

“Miss Maki, sorry to bother you. I wanted to know if you would like to eat anything specific for lunch.”

 

Maki rubbed her eyes and wiped off some sweat with her shirt. “I’m ok. I don’t need lunch.”

 

Kirumi pursed her lips. “Are you sure? You haven’t eaten all day today.”

 

“Thank you Kirumi, but I’m ok. Really.”

 

“Just know that if you need anything, I can and will help you.” Kirumi told her. Perhaps both Shuichi and Maki were just being kind and humble. Admirable, really, but this was her job. “Don’t ever be afraid to ask.”

 

Maki looked at Kirumi and gave a nod. “Got it. Thank you Kirumi, but I really don’t need anything.”

 

Kirumi sighed. “Understood.” She closed to door and exited the room.

 

So much for planning specific meals.

 

…

 

Rantaro was hungry, so when Kirumi said lunch was ready, he was ready.

 

Kirumi had prepared a splendid course of food, as usual. Fancy sandwiches lined the large dining table. The entire… table….

 

“Kirumi, you know I love and appreciate you, but we only have four mouths here on this ship.”

 

“Sorry about that Mister Rantaro. I might have gone a little overboard.”

 

“Why?”

 

Kirumi huffed. “Making sandwiches turned into stress relief, and before I knew it…”

 

Rantaro laughed. “Okay okay, I’m glad it was relief though. Thank you Kirumi.” Kirumi nodded and went up to manage the ship.

 

Rantaro was about to dig in when he realized that his two other guests weren’t here.  _ Oh boy. _

 

He went down to the library to pick up Shuichi, who apologized profusely for not hearing Kirumi’s call for lunch. 

 

Afterward, he went downstairs to pick up Maki who looked like she fell into the ocean.

 

“Maki! You’re completely drenched.” Rantaro yelled.

 

“Oh,” Maki replied. “Whoops.”

 

“Didn’t you say that you didn’t bring anything at all with you? So you have no clothes to change into, right?” Rantaro asked.

 

“... Oops.”

 

Rantaro let out a sigh. “It’s ok. Go take a shower. I’ll call up Kirumi, I’m sure she has some spare clothes for you. And then later you can go shopping for some clothes on Stoneham.”

 

Maki pouted. Then followed compliantly. Rantaro went back upstairs to inform Kirumi about Maki’s situation. He took over watching the ship while Kirumi went to find some clothes. It didn’t take too long for Kirumi to come back.

 

“That was fast.”

 

“Miss Maki wasn’t very picky about what she wore. I found a simple shirt and pants I use for hefty work. The size might be a bit tall for her, but she assured me it was fine.”

 

Rantaro noded. “Well, I’m glad that’s taken care of.”

 

“Yes. Now go downstairs and eat lunch, I’ll take care of the ship.”

 

When Rantaro got back to the dining room. About a quarter of the sandwiches were missing. And a tired Shuichi was sitting in their place.

 

“Oh, Rantaro. Hi.” Shuichi replied.

 

“Woah, I didn’t think you could eat so much.” Rantaro said in awe.

 

“Ah! Sorry, I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I started eating…” Shuichi replied, flustered. “Kirumi’s sandwiches are really good.”

 

“Tell me about it.” Rantaro said as he piled his plate with sandwiches.

 

After eating for a while, Maki walked into the room in Kirumi’s workwear. Unfortunately, it didn’t match her black and red aesthetic from before but hey, we can’t all get what we want.

 

Maki grabbed one sandwich and began nibbling on it. A long silence fell upon the room. Rantaro picked up the newspaper from the kitchen counter and scanned the headlines.

 

“Another story about pirates?” Shuichi asked.

 

“Yup. The Strawhat Pirates are blasting into everything aren’t they.” Rantaro exclaimed.

 

Maki remained silent. Shuichi replied. “I’m not that much of a fan of pirates.”

 

“Me neither.” Rantaro said.

 

“Me too.” Maki added.

 

They continued to eat their sandwiches.

 

“It might be fun though.” Rantaro droned. “To be a pirate.”

 

“What?” Shuichi looked at him. “To ruin civilian’s lives?”

 

“Not that part.” Rantaro clarified. “The absolute free aspect of it seems fun, right?”

 

Shuichi made a face. “Yeah, with no respect for authority.”

 

“Granted the wanted aspect is not so fun.” Rantaro agreed.

 

“Yeah. I’d rather live safe and legal than to pay the price for complete freedom.” Maki piped in.

 

Rantaro and Shuichi hummed in agreement.

 

Suddenly, the sound of a canon filled the air. And then, a scream.

 

“What was that?” Rantaro made his way out of the dining room. Shuichi and Maki followed close.

 

“It sounded like a canon!” Shuichi exclaimed.

 

“Yeah, it did.” Rantaro agreed. He went up to find Kirumi.

 

Kirumi noticed Rantaro coming towards her. She waved her hand to tell him to come closer.

 

“Kirumi! What was that?” Rantaro asked.

 

“It came from Stoneham. We’re getting rather close, earlier than I expected.” Kirumi explained. Rantaro, Shuichi, and Maki all looked towards the small island that their ship was approaching.

 

There were no more canon noises, but there was certainly a lot of commotion. People were frantically trying to get away from the harbor. Rantaro watched closely, and he noticed the one thing that everyone was running away from. A group of people wearing all white outfits with checkered accents were shouting and pointing at the crowd. They stood in front of a market booth and had scared away most of the vendors.

 

As Rantaro’s ship got closer, Rantaro told Kirumi, “Hey dock the ship away from the crowd. Make sure that it’s not too close to the commotion.”

 

“As you wish.” Kirumi replied. She turned the ship away from the yelling and docked behind the markets at the main harbor. 

 

Meanwhile, Rantaro ran over to the storage bins on the deck and grabbed a pair of binoculars. He adjusted the depth and tried to get a closer look at the group. Most of them wore clown masks except for the one in the middle. He had the same attire as the rest of the group but he also wore a large black scarf and a military-style hat. He had dark purple hair with lighter accents and he would have been terrifying if it weren't for the fact that he was puny compared to all the other people in his group.

 

“I think that small guy in the middle is their leader.” Rantaro said. Shuichi and Maki followed his gaze.

 

Shuichi looked hesitant. “Should we get off and go in?”

 

“No,” Rantaro replied. “Let’s wait a bit for the commotion to die down.” He gestured for everyone to sit down.

 

After a while, most of the people have fled the area, and the market place harbor became empty except for the group that was terrorizing them. They quickly stopped yelling and screaming and turned towards each other. Because they were so far away, Rantaro could tell what they were doing.

 

“Alright. I think we should go now.” Rantaro said. Maki nodded.

 

“Wait, woah, woah, are we going to confront them?” Shuichi asked Rantaro.

 

Rantaro smiled. “Yeah, we are. Think about it mister detective. They aren’t as scary as you think.”

 

Shuichi pondered for a moment before turning to Rantaro in realization. Smiling, all three of them left the ship and headed towards the group.

 

It took a while but once they got there, Rantaro held up a hand for Shuichi and Maki to stop. They listened in on the conversation.

 

“Alright leader! I think we gathered a lot today!” A tall, lean man with hair covering one of his eyes approached the short purple boy. 

 

The purple boy nodded. “Alright, guys! We did it, another successful pillage by DICE!!” He laughed and cheered. The group cheered as well.

 

Rantaro decided this was the best time to step out and reveal himself. He beckoned Shuichi and Maki to follow as well. The group was so caught up in cheering they didn’t notice Rantaro walking towards them.

 

“Hey, guys!” He waved. The small purple boy finally noticed him, his eyes went wide and he kicked the side of the guy next to him who also turned to look.

 

“Well, well, well…” The purple boy began. “What do we have here? A straggler it seems like?”

 

Rantaro smiled. Shuichi and Maki also came closer.

 

“Multiple stragglers it seems!” The purple boy exclaimed. He laughed and the group laughed along with him. “It seems you haven’t heard of my name!!”

 

“I haven’t, no.” Rantaro replied.

 

“I’m Kokichi Ouma! The infamous pirate that owns this island!! With a bounty of 10 million belli!!” He shouted and pulled out a wanted poster with his face on it.

 

Maki and Shuichi instantly backed up a couple of steps. Rantaro didn’t budge.

 

“I suggest you leave, unless…” The pirate pulled out a pistol from under his coat. “You want me to help you?” He gave an evil grin as he readied the gun.

 

Rantaro backed up along with Maki and Shuichi now. Although he had a feeling that this purple goblin was calling a bluff, he wasn’t one to stake that feeling on his life. Sure, there was a very high possibility that the gun was a fake, but Rantaro didn’t want to take any chances when it came to weaponry.

 

While Shuichi and Rantaro continued to back away, Maki pulled out a knife from god knows where and stepped in front of the two. She gave the pirate a glare that screamed ‘try me bitch.’

 

In response, the pirate pointed the gun directly at Maki. Rantaro was just about to pull her away from aim when a huge booming voice came from the island.

 

“KOKICHI!!!!!” A purple guy ran at a breathtaking speed towards the pirate with the gun. He was wearing quite a lot of purple. His hair was purple too, and it was spiked up to the skies. He kept yelling as he came towards the harbor.

 

The pirate, Kokichi, noticed him and gave a huge smile and dropped his pistol. “Oh my gosh, Kaito!! Did you come to see me? Ah, you shouldn’t have!!” His tone was painfully teasing, and it worked. The purple guy huffed and scowled at the pirate.

 

“I’m here to fight you once and for all, come on! Bring it on! I’ll capture you and finally bring you in!” He spits towards Kokichi. “Pirate scum.”

 

Kokichi only laughed. He waved his hand and made a gesture. His group then began to assemble and carry the bags full of food that they stole. Kokichi winked at Kaito. “Sorry, but I’m kinda busy this afternoon to go on a date with you. Maybe some other time?”

 

Kaito looked like he was about to explode. “Don’t you dare run away again!” He started to run towards the pirate, but Kokich was pretty nimble. He looped past Kaito and started running into the town. Kaito was about to follow, but doubled over into a coughing fit.

 

It took a while for Rantaro to process what happened. Shuichi and Maki started making their way over to the purple guy, and Rantaro followed suit.

 

“Are you alright?” Shuichi asked, helping him up.

 

The purple guy pushed Shuichi’s had away and got up himself. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He growled.

 

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Rantaro said. “You look a little…” He took a second to find the right word to use, “Rough.”

 

“I’m fine really.” The purple guy took a couple of breaths in and out. And eventually, the veins in his head stopped popping out. “Thank you.”

 

“No problem.”

 

The purple guy smiled at the three. “I’m Kaito Momota, by the way. Sorry that we had to meet like this. That was probably the worst first impression I’ve ever made.” He laughed.

 

Seeing the guy laugh, Rantaro smiled too. “Well, why don’t we talk about it? Care to join us?”

 

Kaito looked strangely at Rantaro before smiling again. “Sure. Why not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Belli - The currency in the one piece world. Think of it like dollars, pounds, euro, yen, yuan, whatever you use. It's basically, money.
> 
> Wanted Posters - All pirates who are recognized by the World Government as a threat are given a wanted poster and a bounty.
> 
> Bounty Hunters - People who hunt pirates for cash. It's a way for people to sustain themselves and earn a living but it's not reliable at all. There are many groups of bounty hunters that work together but there are also many people who work alone.
> 
> \--
> 
> Holy shit, I'm a genius.  
> I've been racking my brain for what roles/professions I should give Ouma and Kaito and I think I nailed it.  
> I was so excited about this idea that I've been trying to write enough to get to this part lol, here we go!!


End file.
